I ordered the new Secret Footballer: Access All Areas book weeks ago.
You should do the same.
I retweet TSF all the time.
Today’s TSF column confirms what I’ve been saying for 2 years :
I met up with my friend, an Arsenal scout, last week.
We talked through players and clubs and he noted that Chelsea’s problems are all being caused by in-house feuding among the players, who are all pointing fingers at one another.
The worst, he told me, is Cesc Fabregas.
I pointed out that Tottenham Hotspur’s summer recruit, Son Heung-min, is one of the most impressive players I’ve seen at White Hart Lane since Gareth Bale.
Immediately, the scout took his phone out of his pocket and showed me a scouting report from last season. This is how it read …
* Scares the life out of defences. Feet are scarily quick, can turn in any direction.
* Keeps his shape, good discipline, counters quickly, carries the ball a long way up the pitch, aware of team-mates in better positions.
* Scores goals from great positions in the box that others don’t take up (Ljungberg). Hard to pick up and track.
* Fit, doesn’t stop working.
* Different to anything that we have in the building.
* CAN PLAY FOR US ALL DAY LONG!!
That was one of several reports he showed me that got better and better.
Arsenal watched Son almost 30 times last season, with all the scouts in agreement that the player would be a fantastic addition.
So what happened?
“It’s Arsene [Wenger],” the scout said. “He’s so indecisive it’s frightening. We had [Morgan] Schneiderlin done and dusted last January and, by the summer, the gaffer had changed his mind. Son was 100 per cent perfect for us.”
As somebody who can spot a player in a Category 5 hurricane, I’m telling you that Arsenal should have signed Son.
He was, indeed, perfect for them and, before he sustained a foot injury, he was the standout performer for Spurs.
At £20.7 million, he may well prove to be the bargain that got away where Arsenal are concerned.
Incidentally, I asked the Arsenal scout about Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus, who I know the club have watched extensively for two years.
“Not for us now,” the scout said. “We’ve got enough of those players.”
Reus scored two goals in Dortmund’s 5-1 win over FC Augsburg on Sunday, by the way.
Sorry, Arsenal fans.